Tokyo asks China to stop COVID-19 anal swab tests on Japanese citizens

The Japanese government Monday asked China to stop conducting the anal swab tests on the Japanese citizens, saying that it causes "psychological distress", Tokyo's Kyodo agency reported. Citing the recent complaints made by the officials who underwent the procedure as a mandatory testing method in Beijing, the Japanese administration condemned China for not opting to take PCR antigen tests against the novel coronavirus instead. Beijing started conducting anal swabs in January, and only last week was criticized for forcing US diplomats to take anal swabs, which the Chinese foreign ministry categorically denied. The People's republic has been relying on the controversial method to ramp up the accurate and early detection of the COVID-19 infected individuals within the communist nation.

At a press conference, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said that the government informed the Japanese Embassy in Beijing about the incident and wasn't informed about China's change in policy in return agreeing to conduct the polymerase chain reaction tests in the future. The minister added that he had urged the Chinese administration to exempt putting Japanese citizens and diplomats through such a testing method in the future. 

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China's foreign ministry denies reports

China's foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian had earlier denied the reports of forcing foreign diplomats to take anal tests, saying that "China has never required diplomatic staff stationed in China to conduct anal swab tests". Zhao's remarks came after Washington Post reported that the diplomats raised the issue with the US state department about being forced to take anal swab tests in China using cotton swabs of 3-5cm (1.2-2.0 inches), which the US critically objected to. 

US State Department never agreed to this kind of testing and protested directly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when the staff was subject to it, US state department spokesperson Edward Price told Vice New. However, he insisted that in response, China government said that the diplomats were given the anal swab tests in error. A respiratory and infectious disease doctor in Beijing, Li Tongzeng, meanwhile had told the state press that the anal swab tests were conducted across China as they were more reliant. The traces of the novel coronavirus were detectable for a longer time than in the mouth or nose. 

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